Subspecies: Rieppeleon kerstenii robecchii (BOULENGER 1892) has been elevated to full species.

Etymology

The genus has been named for the comparative anatomist Olivier Rieppel who first identified the paraphyly of the African pygmy chameleons by virtue of differences in cranial anatomy. The species is dedicated to OTTO KERSTEN (1839-1900), a German chemist and African traveller.

Rieppeleon kerstenii robecchii has been named after the collector of the type, Sig. L. Bricchetti Robecchi.

Loveridge,A. 1920. Notes on East African lizards collected 1915-1919, with description of a new genus and species of skink and new subspecies of gecko. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1920: 131-167 - get paper here

Mariaux, Jean and Colin R. Tilbury. 2006. The pygmy chameleons of the eastern Arc range (Tanzania): Evolutionary relationships and the description of three new species of Rhampholeon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae). The Herpetological Journal 16 (3): 315-331